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| Qihoo |
| US$25,000,000 |
Private Placement
Financial Advisor
November 2006 |
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Company Description
Qihoo Technology Company Limited (¡°Qihoo¡±) is the leading intelligent User Generated Content (¡°UGC¡±) search and aggregation service provider in China. Qihoo was founded in September 2005, and is engaged in UGC search and aggregation services, providing entertainment and lifestyle information to its customers. Qihoo is invested by Highland Capital Partners, Redpoint Ventures and existing institutional investors Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners and IDG.
Situation
As one of the most experienced search teams in China, Qihoo had a proven track record. Aiming for the emerging UGC market, Qihoo had built a specialized search engine and aggregator before its Series B financing. The Company needed growth capital to develop more products, expand its market reach and realize monetization. Qihoo presented a unique business model with a ¡°never heard of before¡± story.
Entrepreneur Profile
Mr. Hongyi Zhou, CEO of Qihoo, was previously CEO of Yahoo! China from January 2004 to August 2005, during which time he led Yahoo! China through substantial growth. In 1998, Mr. Zhou founded 3721, a leading Chinese internet search engine and marketing company, which held 40% of the paid search market in China ahead of Baidu. Mr. Zhou holds a Masters Degree in System Engineering from Xi¡¯an Jiaotong University.
China Renaissance Solution
As the UGC search concept is quite advanced for the market, we mainly targeted U.S. investors with search experience and an in-depth understanding of the trend of the internet industry. We approached Highland because the partners co-founded Lycos and both Highland and Redpoint had previously invested in Ask.com. China Renaissance helped the Company balance the various factors influencing the financing, investors, valuation, timing and potential legal issues. It only took 30 days from the signing of the term sheet to closing.
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